My daughter's horse is trained in both English and Western. She is a better Western horse, but my daughter wants to show both. How do we keep her from getting confused?

If she is well trained, she should not get confused as long as your daughter gives her specific cues to slow down for western or extend for hunt seat. It does not matter what bit or saddle the horse is wearing....a well trained horse WILL slow down and rate AND move out an extend, but it's up to the rider to do that.

I can go out with a western saddle and ported bit on my horse and move him out and ride like I'm hunt seat. And vice versa....I can put a snaffle bit and hunt seat saddle on him, and motor him down to a WP horse. It comes down to training and effectiveness of the rider, not the tack.

The reason Google will show the images it does when you type "shanked snaffle" in the search bar is that Google bases it's searches not on fact but on popular usages of words. The term snaffle, while incorrect for any shanked bit, is popularly used for them, thus will come up in the Google search.

I did all kinds of events with my mare. Change bits, and change riding styles. For me, I rode more on my pockets for western events. But she should be just fine. Just take it slow and don't get frustrated if the horse gets confused :)

The reason Google will show the images it does when you type "shanked snaffle" in the search bar is that Google bases it's searches not on fact but on popular usages of words. The term snaffle, while incorrect for any shanked bit, is popularly used for them, thus will come up in the Google search.

The horse should not get confused. My mare is very green still and I simply do not have time to switch bits and saddles during my ride to work on another discipline. I ride in my english saddle and we do everything from a little pleasurable jog to an extended working trot.

Maybe a finished, discipline trained horse would be more confused. But they should be able to do what you ask of them.

Shank snaffle is a term western people use for a jointed bit with short shanks.....it's just because the mouth piece is jointed in the middle like a snaffle.....it's still a shanked bit, saying 'short shank snaffle' is just a descriptive term to differentiate it from all the other shanked bits hanging on the tack room wall........no biggy. I understood what she meant.....it's not a snaffle, but the mouth piece looks like one....

My daughter's horse is trained in both English and Western. She is a better Western horse, but my daughter wants to show both. How do we keep her from getting confused?

As already been said, make sure you have two complete separate tack sets for each discipline.

And ride properly for each discipline. So if Western, that means a loose rein and one hand, and an even neck. And if English, that means contact on the bit, self-carriage, and two hands.

Horses are very smart, if you give them the proper cues to follow.

I will do the same concept with my barrel horses. I like to take them to local shows and do halter, showmanship, reining, competitive trail, etc so they can do more than just run around 3 cans. I use very specific headgear and bits for each event, as well as sport boots versus no sport boots. But it also has to do with my body language as we enter the arena. That tells them the most about what I expect them to do in that arena.

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So unless google is wrong, the style of jointed bit attached to the shanks, is still a snaffle. But thanks :)

You cannot believe everything you read on the internet. Google IS wrong (although as pointed out, it's not Googles fault.) It is not a snaffle.

I can take a photo of an Appaloosa horse, and label it incorrectly as a Paint horse, and post it on the internet. Google will eventually "crawl" the photo and index it. So if you search for "Paint Horse" you will find my wrong labeled Appy horse.

Magazines and catalogs constantly label things wrong (I am especially annoyed by the "wormer" page that lists all the DEwormers for horses). Just because it is labeled as such, doesn't make it true.

This is a snaffle bit (no shanks).

This is NOT a snaffle bit. This is a Tom Thumb bit and it is often labeled incorrectly in catalogs as a shanked snaffle bit.

This bit COULD be either a snaffle bit or a curb bit. It depends on where you attached your reins.

This bit COULD be either a snaffle bit or a curb bit. It depends on where you attached your reins.

I would still say that is a leverage bit. The cheek pieces attach to the top of the bit and the reins, even on the "snaffle" part of the bit would still give it a leverage or gag action as it will play on poll pressure.

Just like a full cheek snaffle with the keepers can be considered a very mild gag as it applies poll pressure.

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